During the Second World War, these Canadians fought in Sicily, in Italy, in Normandy, during the campaign of North East Europe or elsewhere. Some lost their lives fighting, while others made it back home where they raised a family and took part in forging Canada today. Sometimes told by their children or grandchildren, their personal histories act as a complement to official history told here.
Identity Adrien BOIVIN (Joseph Marcellin Adrien) Born March 30, 1923 in Kenogami, Quebec Son of Marcellin Boivin and Marie-Jeanne Tremblay Married to Lucille Bilodeau from Quebec Father of Catherine and Louise Known Norman origins Paternal: Pierre Boivin, son of Pierre...
Queen’s Own Rifles of Canada Albert Wilson Kennedy (Al Kennedy) was born on July 31, 1923, in Greenock Scotland. Al moved with his family to Canada, at the age of 9 months. His family settled in Mimico, Ontario. Al Kennedy...
Identity Benoît GONTHIER (Joseph Benoit) Born April 29th, 1924 in Lauzon, Quebec Son of Jean Gonthier and Delia Asselin Married to Jeannine Guenet on June 16th, 1951 Father of Bernard, Sylvie, Jean (deceased), Marie, André and Isabelle Known Norman origins Paternal:...
In 2014, Elena Haratsaris, a young woman from Caen, Normandy, who was living in Québec met with Conrad Landry and his wife and shared their history with us: « Conrad’s life story began on the Îles-de-la-Madeleine in 1917, during a time...
SURNAME: CRAIN GIVEN NAME: Cyril Walter NATIONALITY: British DATE OF BIRTH: June 11, 1923 PLACE OF BIRTH: Nottingham, England RANK: Signalman UNIT: 19 Beach Signal Section, Combined Operations Command BEFORE THE WAR: Cyril Walter Crain was born on June 11,...
DAVID WEBSTER GOODWIN FLYING OFFICER – PILOT R.C.A.F. – J/25874 David was born on February 7, 1920, in Grand Prairie, Alberta. He was the son of James Cameron Goodwin and Jessie Ann (née: Webster). The family moved to Kaleden, British...
Surname: MULHOLLAND Given name: Dorothy Irene Nationality: Canadian Date of Birth: January 5, 1915 Place of Birth: Grimsby, Ontario, Canada Rank: Nursing Sister, F/O Corps:.No. 2 Mobile Field Unit BEFORE THE WAR Dorothy Irene Mulholland was born on January 5, 1915,...
Third son of Senator Jean Léon Côté and of Cécile (Gagnon) Côté, he was born in Edmonton, Alberta on June 12, 1913. He studied at the Edmonton Jesuit College and obtained a BSc degree from the Laval University in 1931....
Frank Battershill was born on June 26, 1916 in Winnipeg, Manitoba On June 6, 1944, Frank Battershill was a lieutenant commanding N°7 Platoon, “A” Company, Royal Winnipeg Rifles who landed on the extreme right (western) flank of Courseulles. His platoon...
Frank P. Davidson was born May 20, 1918 in New York (USA). Frank P. Davidson joined the Canadian Army before the United States entered the war. He enlisted on August 25, 1941 as a trooper in the Canadian Armoured Corps....
Frederick Bourgeois is Acadian. He was born in 1922, in Shédiac New-Brunswick. He volunteered to join the North Shore New Brunswick Regiment in 1941. He was eventually transferred to the Fusiliers Mont-Royal Regiment, and arrived in Normandy with the 2nd...
Known as the founder of the Juno Beach Centre, today Garth S. Webb represents the Canadian Second World War veterans and their families who have been the driving force behind the creation of the Juno Beach Centre. They had the...
Brigadier-General (Ret’d) George Edwin (Ted) Beament (1908-2005) Born in Ottawa, Ontario, in 1908, G. E. (Ted) Beament attended Lisgar Collegiate Institute. From a young age, he expressed an interest in becoming a lawyer, but his father, who had established his...
George Lynch-Staunton was born on June 1, 1923 in Pincher Creek, Alberta. Between April 1939 and October 1941, George Lynch-Staunton belonged to the 15th Alberta Light Horse. Between October 1941 and July 1946, he joined the 21st, 14th and 13th...
Identity Georges ISABELLE (Georges-Marie) Born August 9, 1922 at Cap-Chat, Quebec Died on April 23, 2013 Son of Samuel Isabelle and Marie Lavoie Married to Marie-Paule Breton on September 2, 1946 (Deceased October 19, 2003) – Companion of Chantal Soucy...
Boulanger Joseph Hector Gilbert Canadian June 3, 1922 – December 31, 2013 Montmagny, Québec, Canada Flying Officer (F/O) Royal Canadian Air Force – 425 Squadron BEFORE THE WAR Gilbert “Gilles” Boulanger was born on June 3, 1922 in Montmagny, Québec,...
Gilles GAMACHE (Joseph Jean-René Gilles) Born April 7, 1920 in Montreal, Quebec Deceased July 9, 2008 in Longueil, Quebec Son of Adolphus Gamache and Marguerite Beauchamp Married to Olivette Charron on October 17, 1942 (Deceased February 1, 1994) – Life...
Lieutenant Colonel J. H. Quarton was born on November 22, 1922 in Marshall, Saskatchewan. J.H. Quarton joined the South Alberta Regiment in June 1940 when he was only 17 years old. He went overseas in 1942 as a technical Quarter...
John (Jack) Hadley joined the Queen’s Own Rifles (QOR) in June 1940, along with his brother, George. Jack and George trained with the QOR in Newfoundland, Camp Sussex, New Brunswick, Scotland, and England before both landed in the first wave...
On the night of D-Day, Jan de Vries parachuted into Normandy with the 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion. Jan de Vries was born on January 24th, 1924 in Leeuwarden, Friesland, in the north of the Netherlands. 6 years later, he immigrated...
Identity Jean-Maurice LEDUC (Joseph Jean-Maurice) Born January 31, 1923 in Montreal, Quebec Son of Louis-Adolphe Leduc and Rose-Alba Blain Married to Adrienne Bruynings from Baarle-Nassau (Belgium) on December 27,1945 Father of Corinne, Laurent, André, Ryan and Gaëtanne Norman Origins Paternal:...
Harry Bardsley was born on 18th June 1918, at St Catharines (Ontario) Canada, the youngest of seven children. From his earliest years, he draws and paints but without any parental encouragement. He was educated at the St Catharines Collegiate Institute....
John Archibald MacNaughton was born in Black River Bridge, New Brunswick in October 1896. He had two sisters, Katie and Annie. Archie, as he was called by all who knew him, enlisted in the First World War in November...
SURNAME: GARIEPY GIVEN NAME: Léonard Roger NATIONALITY: Canadien DATE OF BIRTH: October 3, 1912 PLACE OF BIRTH: St-François de Sales, Laval, Québec, Canada RANK: Sergeant CORPS: 6th Armoured Regiment – First Hussars BEFORE THE WAR Léonard “Léo” Gariépy was born...
Identity Lorenzo TREMBLAY (Joseph Arthur Lorenzo) Born January 10, 1922 in Val-Brillant, Quebec Son of Pierre Tremblay and Marianne Brochu First marriage with Marie-Jeanne Chénard – Second marriage with Aurore Boudreau, November 1, 1997 Father of Raymond and Alain Norman...
Louis-Philippe Leblanc was born on September 26, 1917, in Ville St Laurent, Québec. He deceased on December 16, 2002. Louis-Philippe LeBlanc volunteered for the Canadian army in 1942. He was assigned to the Royal 22nd Regiment and then transferred to...
Marcel Ouimet was born in Montreal, Québec in 1915. He attended the University of Ottawa and the School of Socia Studies of l’Université de Paris. A journalist with Ottawa’s newspaper “Le Droit”, and perfectly bilingual, in 1939, he was recruited...
Mervin Jones was born in Hull, Quebec. He grew up during the Great Depression, facing economic uncertainty like many Canadian families, which influenced his decision to enlist in the Canadian Army in 1941. He trained in Cornwall before embarking for...
Nelson Hilborn was born on January 28, 1924 in Preston, Ontario. Nelson Hilborn joined the Highland Light Infantry of Canada in 1939. After training in Scotland with the 9th Scottish Brigade, he landed with the first wave on Juno Beach...
Philip J. Cockburn was born on July 26, 1922 in Alnwick, England He moved to Canada with his parents in 1930. He joined the 16th/22nd Saskatchewan Horse in June 1940 and was transferred to the First Hussars’ “A” Squadron in...
Identity Pierre CLÉMENT (Joseph Pierre Amable) Born January 8, 1918 at St-Joseph des Cèdres, Quebec and died on November 26, 2010. Son of Omer Clément and Virginie DeMontigny. Married to Adrienne DeMontigny on September 6, 1951 (deceased October 6, 2005)...
Identity Pierre DUBUC (Pierre Hector) Born October 6, 1924 in Val-des-Bois, Quebec (deceased on September 19, 2017) Son of Paul Dubuc and Cordélia David Married to Annette Grenier on July 23, 1951 Father of Ginette, Pierrette and Lorraine Known Norman...
On June 6th, 1944, Ralph Charles Spencer landed in Normandy and distinguished himself in an act of bravery by rescuing six comrades. Ralph Charles Spencer was born in the small Irish coal mining community of Londonderry, Nova Scotia. The Spencer...
Early Life and Education On April 19, 1918, Ray Jamieson was born in the rural community of Hillier, Ontario, located in Prince Edward County (approximately 209 kilometers east of Toronto, Ontario, Canada). Ray’s parents were descendants of Scottish immigrants. He...
Major-General Richard H. Rohmer was born on January 24, 1924 in Hamilton, Ontario Richard Rohmer joined the Royal Canadian Air Forces at the age of 18, early in Second World War. He flew P-51 Mustang fighters, was over the beaches...
Identity Roméo L. BOULANGER (Joseph Roméo François LEFEBVRE-DIT-BOULANGER) Born June 4, 1917 at Saint-Côme, Beauce, Québec Deceased on September 28, 2009 Son of Elie (Lefebvre) Boulanger and Rose-Anna (de) Rancourt Married to Yvette Desrosiers of Rimouski on September 23, 1947...
Romuald OUELLET was born August 18, 1920 in Rivière-du-Loup. He deceased on May 23, 2012 Son of Apollinaire Ouellet and Marie-Louise D’Amour-dit-Courberon Married to Thérèse Dionne on September 16, 1950 (deceased May 31, 2000) Father of André, Jean, Pierre and Manon...
Samuel F. Wormington was born July 19, 1920 in Cranbrook, British-Colombia. Samuel Wormington’s military career started in January 1942. After training in various places in Canada, he was sent to England for artillery training in 1943. He was attached to...
Sid J. Pass served with the 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion. Sid J. Pass was born in 1926 in Brantford, Ontario. He began his military service in 1943 in London, Ontario, and qualified as a paratrooper in Shilo, Manitoba, on December...
We love it when Canadians share their stories of remembrance with us. Recently, one son told us of his father’s story, Stanley Humphreys. Both Stanley Humphreys and Ken Robinson (pictured above) landed on Juno Beach. Stanley landed on Juno Beach...
SURNAME: WAITSON GIVEN NAME: Maurice NATIONALITY: Canadian DATE OF BIRTH: May 5, 1924 PLACE OF BIRTH: Napanee, Ontario, Canada RANK: AB CORPS: Royal Canadian Navy BEFORE THE WAR Maurice was born on May 5, 1924, the sixth child born to...
Gord, as he was known, was born in Caledon, Ontario, on August 12, 1920. He was the son of William Henry Harris and Bertha (née: Moynes). He had two brothers, Wilson and Jim; and three sisters, Hilda, Betty and Dorothy. Gord’s mother died in 1938 at the age of 46 years, when the youngest child, Dorothy, was three years of age.
Will R. Bird was born in 1891 in East Mapleton, Nova Scotia. After losing his brother Stephen Carmen Bird to a German mine explosion in October 1915, he enlisted in the Canadian Army in 1916. He saw action at Vimy,...
William (Bill) TAYLOR William (Bill) Taylor born in London, England, in 1922, died on November 13, 2018. Driver/mechanic in the Royal Engineers. William Taylor, known as Bill or ‘Tea Pot’ for was always making a brew, was born in the...
Windsor C. MACDONALD was born on November 14, 1924 in Bay Side, New Brunswick. On June 6, 1941, 16-year-old Windsor Clarence MacDonald lied about his age to join two of his brothers in the North Shore Regiment. He enlisted in...
